By Moriah Schranz

This story was posted on February 14, 2024. Here is the original link.

I walked into Mr. Wright’s room to interview Cameron Sadr, and I found him studying. As we stepped into the bustling hallways, we discussed his academic and athletic career at Maury High School. With an even voice and calm demeanor, Cameron brings up his parents, immigrants from Iran and Lebanon, and describes them as hard workers. When asked about his experience at Maury, Sadr says his teachers and coaches have been supportive.

“It really takes a village to help me reach a goal and they help me get there,” says Sadr.

Sadr is a first-generation senior at Maury who expresses his gratitude towards his parents and his school for allowing him to pursue his education.

In this interview, Cameron shares how he balances school with his social and athletic life, giving advice to future seniors on how to manage their stress levels. The following has been edited for clarity:

MS: Who or what keeps you motivated?

CS: I think intrinsically, I like succeeding and seeing myself do well and I want to make a good future for myself. Extrinsically, my mom and my dad have always made me get good grades when I was younger. I guess that value has stayed around in high school, even though they haven’t had to be on me as much.

MS: Why is it that your parents don’t have to be on you as much?

CS: I can see how they were able to succeed when they were in elementary and middle school coming over from Lebanon and Iran. All they did was work hard and balance their time wisely. They were able to be successful in what they do and it is something that I can respect.

MS: What is the greatest lesson that your parents have taught you?

CS: I think the most inspiring thing that my parents have told me is that they have worked so hard so that I can live a better life than they did. It kind of makes me feel appreciative for what I have but know that I also have people that I need to work hard for and give back to. It is not a responsibility, but it is only right.

MS: How do you manage sports with school?

CS: It definitely takes away from my sleep level. I get home from [soccer and] track around 9pm. I get my homework done around 11 pm or 12 am, go to sleep, and wake up at 6:30 am. I definitely think it takes away from sleep, but it is worth it at the end of the day.

MS: Any senioritis?

CS: I would say after I got into college, it has been tough. Still, I do not think all my motivation came from wanting to get into college. Half of it was wanting to succeed, do well, and see myself do well. That is still very present and although I have two free bells, I use the time to make myself better. I don’t think I burn out as much as a normal person would.

MS: What advice do you have for rising seniors applying to college?

CS: I think that the most important thing is to be genuine. It is obvious if you are lying and rising juniors, seniors, sophomores or freshman should all be opportunistic and take chances.

MS: What are your goals once you graduate?

CS: In college, I want to find what I’m really passionate about in the workplace and maybe gain new hobbies besides just running. I want to find my academic passion because here I just do a bit of everything.

MS: We have talked about your athletic and academic life but what about socially? Have you felt like it has been hard to balance your social life?

CS: Not really. I think that during the weekdays people do not really hangout with their friends anyway, so I try to hang out socially on the weekends and do work during the week. I just make sure my time is scheduled so I have time for school, friends and sports without them interfering with each other.